These Dreams
by Miss Button Madder
Summary: Richard/OC. A young woman who has dreamed about the Island all of her life, and of a mysterious man who lives on it, ends up on Oceanic 815. She's special, and the Others get to her first. The Island has plans, and uses her to achieve them.
1. Chapter 1

**These Dreams – Chapter 1**

Eris Blake did not like falling asleep unless her body demanded it. Unfortunately for Eris Blake, her body had reached its breaking point. She sighed, loud enough for the large black man next to her to notice with a silent raised brow.

This would have been intimidating for most with the paired facial expression he gave, but Eris did not care. There were only three things she feared. Camel spiders, deja vu, and dreams. Thankfully one of those three could easily be prevented by not going to any deserts in the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. Dreams, could be put off as long as sleep was not needed, but unfortunately, deja vu was just as preventable as crossing one's fingers and hoping for the best.

Los Angeles was hours away.

Her eyelids were barely holding themselves up.

Things were not looking good.

_Look at the bright side Eris, maybe loverboy will make an appearance._

_Or maybe your plane is going to crash into an island._

_An island you've dreamt about all of your life._

_An island that has a consciousness that knows who you are Eris Wren Blake.._

_An island that wants you._

Eris rubbed her eyes harder than necessary and shook her head, tossing her chestnut colored hair about her so that she could run her fingers through it, a nervous habit. Her fingers toyed with her bangs for a moment, sliding them just a smidgen to the side so that their tips wouldn't go directly into her eye.

When she landed the first thing she was doing was getting her bangs cut. Yes, Los Angeles would have plenty of hair salons. She could get her hair cut, maybe some ends trimmed, and then on her first day of the job she would feel fabulous. Of course, after the hair cut she would have to take the first train to Stanford.

The Stanford Library of Knowledge scholarship had been her ticket back to the states, and out of her father's house. Although she would miss her father's new wife, she was a lovely person. Maybe she could visit when she earned some vacation time.

She stretched out her legs for the third time and stifled a yawn. Eris took off her shoes, readjusted her socks, and then slipped her shoes back on. The plane was a little chilly and she rolled down the long black sleeves to her undershirt and pulled her navy blue shirt back into place so it wouldn't be wrinkly. She looked down at the brown font on her shirt and smiled. Her mother had gotten her the shirt from some silly shop. In brown font on the navy blue shirt read letters that got progressively bigger and they read: Everything will be OK.

A nap couldn't possibly hurt. This was her lucky shirt. And coupled with her lucky underwear, she should be fine.

She leaned her seat back the minuscule amount it allotted, and closed her eyes.

~ * ~ * ~

_The world is black._

_Something hits her leg and her eyes open._

_She's on the plane. A man comes into her vision, he's older, with bright blue eyes and a friendly demeanor, "I'm sorry dear," he says, "I'm just trying to get to the bathroom, I didn't mean to wake you." He pats her arm in apology, and continues towards the bathroom._

_She sits up, using the lever on her chair to make it come back up._

_A flight attendant comes by and offers her a pillow if she would like to go back to sleep._

_She politely declines and the flight attendant moves onto another passenger in the next row who is trying to doze off. The passenger accepts the pillow. A child cries. She overhears someone accidentally spill their drink, and the following sounds of collaborative cleanup._

_The plane hits a patch of turbulence, and the flight attendant abruptly leaves her section for the one in front._

_The pilot uses the speaker system to say something about everything being normal._

_Her gut cringes. Her eyes close. She brings up her legs and buries her face in them as she wraps her arms around herself._

_The scene blacks out._

_She's walking in a jungle._

_Her black converses are treading the jungle floor, each step as carefully as if she's avoiding glass._

_There's a clearing ahead._

_A wooden house in the middle of the jungle._

_The wind whispers, the tree dance._

_Her eyes open wide as a voice on the breeze blows the hair by her ears._

"_He's here. You belong here."_

"_Where?" she asks, "Why?"_

"_You wouldn't come, so I had to bring you."_

_She bites her lip nervously and says, "You won't tell me your name, how can I trust you?"_

_Her heart beats faster, the voice speaks softer._

"_Don't speak of me, run or he won't find you."_

"_Who is he!?"_

"_RUN!"_

_She's standing on a beach, the plane is wrecked, survivors of the crash are crying, screaming. The ocean stretches out for miles, her eyes look around her, and then settle on the jungle._

"RUN_!"_

_An invisible force physically pushes her into the jungle and she starts to run._

_Trees and screams, trees and screams, until there's only trees._

_She's run miles. But she keeps going._

_Her shoes are untied._

_She bends down to tie them, someone comes up behind her, they both know each other is there._

_She stands up, turns around._

_He's standing there. Staring at her._

_His eyes are dark. He knows her as well as she knows him.._

_Previous dreams flash quickly now. Sensations across her skin as she feels him against her, hears his ragged breaths, tastes his bottom lip, smells all of the things that make him exotic. All she sees is him._

~*~*~

Someone bumps her leg.

Eris opens her eyes.

"I'm sorry dear," a man with bright blue eyes and a kind face explains, "I'm just trying to get to the bathroom, I didn't mean to wake you." He pats her arm in apology, and continues towards the restroom.

All Eris does is watch in utter horror, her wide dark green eyes, unblinking as she watches the man make his way to the restroom. She inhales deeply and exhales. There's nothing she can do.

Unfortunately she knows from past experiences that no one would believe her. With grim resolve she sets her seat up, and tightens her seat belt. She turns in time to see the flight attendant coming with the pillow and she shakes her head politely and points at the passenger in the next row.

She doesn't trust herself to speak, she's too scared. There's no way out. As the flight attendant passes she lets her tears fall. She listens for the child, when it screams she brings her legs up.

Everything was not going to be OK.

A/N: This is my first LOST fanfic. I'm just kind of...playing with this. I really just wanted to read some awesome Richard fanfiction, but there doesn't seem to be that many on here so I decided to make my own.

Like I said before, I'm just kind of playing with this, so...here I go. I'm currently watching all of LOST right now, and am up to Episode 4 on Season 4. So...cut me some slack ok?

Thanks for taking the time to read my fanfic.


	2. Chapter 2

**These Dreams – Chapter 2**

Eris blinked slowly. Her head was pounding and her thoughts were a whirl of confusion. It took a moment for her eyes to focus, and she came to the dawning realization that she was lying in sand, though she didn't know why. And then she noticed the screams. People were screaming. She pushed herself up and looked around in shell shock as her memories slowly returned.

Survivors were running around, bleeding, panicking.

As she knew it would be, everything was in chaos.

She looked down at her hands, and gave herself a quick look over. She was fine, her dream had not dictated otherwise, but out of concern she checked anyways. Her neck was sore, her arms were bruised and scratched, she had bit her bottom lip pretty hard, and there was a cut beneath her left eye, yet, nothing was serious.

Nothing would slow her down.

She took a moment to take in her surroundings. As much as she hated to admit it, the forested mountains further inland were memorable from her dreams. She was _here_.

As much as she wanted to deny it, there was no mistake; this Island was the one that had called her.

Eris stood up shakily, and watched a woman take two children towards the tree line of the jungle for shelter.

Her green eyes panned over to the section of trees that was closest to her.

She started to run.

~*~*~

At first it was a mindless escape. A fight or flight response that her adrenaline aided gratuitously.

Her muscles in her leg pumped each bound across the jungle floor as she discarded all thought processes for what most athlete's would call 'the zone.'

Eris breathed and focused as each muscle tightened, then released.

Though Eris was not what she herself would call an athlete, she had previously possessed a gym membership that she had canceled the day before her flight. Running was the easiest, and she had gotten into it by taking a kick boxing for fitness class at her college last semester.

She was a good three miles away before she started to slow her pace. The adrenaline rush that the plane crash had given her had started to wane after the first mile and now she needed to pace herself.

The greenery around her was no longer a blur. In the foliage she was starting to notice that not all the trees were clustered together. Every now and then a small clearing would reveal a bush with brightly colored flowers, or she would pass fallen fruit. Since she didn't recognize the fruit, she wagered it would be better not to try and eat it. Besides, running was better done on an empty stomach.

In the clearings she was able to see the small mountains of the island, and idly wondered if she would have to climb them. Running through lovely curtains of hanging vines was getting to be quite enjoyable. Mountains might make things _too_ much fun.

_I can't believe this is really happening._

Due to previous experiences Eris had come to terms with the following about her dreams:

They were always focused on her. The only future she had ever seen in her dreams was a future that was confined to whatever happened either directly to her, or directly around her.

On average, they happened once a month, or more if something eventful was going to happen to her.

Her dreams always varied, some were lucid, some played out like a movie, and sometimes they happened without sound, and even rarer still, they happened with just audio in blackness.

On some occasions, she could change how the events played out in reality.

And sometimes, the severity of a dream would only hit her after it happened. Sometimes she wouldn't be able to remember what had happened in her sleep after she woke. What didn't make sense in her waking moments abruptly came together like the last page in a mystery novel as the event happened, usually in a way that was too late to change.

The only exceptions to this rule had been the dreams concerning the Island, and the man she had come to dotingly endear as 'Loverboy.'

Eris had never considered the dreams concerning him to be prophetic, just simply repetitive. The hows and whys of who he was she had passed off as her subconscious picking out a man she had just glimpsed long enough to notice his features and deem them handsome enough to remember. Just a stranger in a crowd that surfaced in her dreams whenever she was feeling a little randy before bedtime.

Eris had thought it was a simple enough explanation.

Waking up on the beach had been a rude awakening to just how wrong she had been.

And her dreams of the Island...

...they had _always_ been a mystery to her.

Haunting, and exotic. Soothing, and frightening. Beautiful, and mysterious.

After randomly picking up a dream dictionary one day she had come to the conclusion (according to the dream dictionary) that the 'Island' was just her subconscious' way of finding an escape. Eris remembered that she had looked at the cover of the dream dictionary that had led her to that conclusion for a quiet moment before tossing it back into the bargain books cart at the bookstore and slightly grumbling, "Some people get to fly and I get to meander about on a mysterious Island. Goody."

Eris continued her trek at a steady jog.

_And is he really, well, _real_?_

Eris felt her face blush furiously as she remembered the erotic dreams that were now not as frivolous as she had previously thought.

_How is that- Who is he? Why have I- _

_If he's real, has he had the same dreams? Have, we been, _sharing_ the same dreams?_

Out of fear of mortal embarrassment Eris hoped not.

As a matter of fact, her first sex dream had been of the man with the dark 'come hither' eyes.

The memory of it caused her to stumble in her jog for a moment. She regained her balance quickly and clenched her teeth.

_Is this a good idea? Should I really be running into a jungle that I could get lost and die in? None of this makes any sense. This Island is freaking talking to me! I don't even know if that's a good thing!_

She stopped.

_For all I know it could have just been a normal person crazy dream. What if I'm acting incredibly foolish? What if rescue boats come and everyone gets rescued except for me, the crazy girl who ran into the jungle without a word?_

It was then that the whispers started to float through the trees. It wasn't the first time she had heard them.

The hairs on the back of her neck rose and her breathing hitched to a faster rate. Her heartbeats accelerated and she whirled around, peering through the trees around her for answers. The whispers began to rise in their pitch and she hesitantly started to walk in the direction she had been running towards in fear guided intuition.

The whispers stopped.

She didn't need to be told again.

~*~*~

Eris continued her pace, jogging until she tired, and then walking until she could jog again.

Night had long ago fallen, but luckily the moon was full and the majority of the light filtered through the trees, illuminating the path almost as if...by design and not accident.

Eris' footsteps came to a slow stop, she was almost thoroughly exhausted. Her legs were the most sore they had ever been in her entire life. She was physically tired and needed a break.

"I'll start running again in a few minutes," she explained quietly to the trees, "I just need to rest a moment."

Whether it was because her words were heard, there was no way of telling, the Island offered no sign of hearing her.

_No sign at all is better than creepy jungle whispers._

Eris waited until her heartbeat and breathing returned to normal before she started off again. It was getting harder to keep running. She wanted more than anything to sit and rest, but the Island scared her. In her dreams it could lash out just as easily as it could enchant. An invisible force that could deliver a physical presence and blow when angered.

Her breathing was starting to hurt. The night air was getting chillier and her lungs were starting to burn. Her legs were almost mechanical in their movements. If she kept this up for even thirty more minutes she was going to collapse.

Eris kept running. She had never felt so alone and lost. And the idea of collapsing into a mini coma on the jungle floor worried her. What kind of wild animals were out here? What if some jungle cat came down and maimed her? What if a snake bit her and she died from lack of medical treatment? Or even worse, what if a spider bit her and laid eggs-

She gasped aloud at how silly that was and started to walk again.

_I'm just a little scared. And that's completely rational. I'm alone on an island that seems to have come to life and the darkness is just a little scary, right?_

She kicked the dirt in an attempt to work out her frustration.

_When am I supposed to stop? Am I just supposed to keep habitually looking down at my shoes until they-_

Time slowed down for Eris Blake.

Her shoes were untied.

The right one to be precise.

Eris had never experienced trying to tie one's shoe while trying not to hyperventilate before, but she found she was doing a good job.

She stopped and stared at it for a long moment. She breathed in, then breathed out, and kneeled to the floor.

Each hand gracefully pulls the shoestrings between her fingers, and she loops them about as the most quiet rustling sound is heard behind her.

She shivers in complete apprehension, and then pulls the bow into a knot as she comes to feel his presence behind her getting closer.

Eris stands up numbly, her eyes wide and her hands shaking, and slowly turns around.

Her eyes linger from their downcast gaze to travel up from his brown boots to his black pants, up the long brown sleeves of his button up shirt that have been pushed up, to settle on his face.

His jawline has about the same amount of stubble she's used to seeing, and the same strong shape. His hair is dark, and has the same cowlick tussle.

In the scarce light his eyes hold the familiar dark color she's used to in her dreams. Though due to rare flashes of clarity in her dreams she knows they're a few shades lighter...his thick eyelashes are what makes them so memorable.

His eyebrows draw together in thoughtful curiosity and he continues to study her as she observes him.

Is she dreaming?

He takes a step towards her.

She inhales and realizes that she had stopped breathing.

"Do I know you?"

His voice breaks the spell of silence and she remembers the sound of it from her dreams.

_Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit-_

He smiles, and shakes his head as if to clear it though his eyes are still confused, "I have this very strange feeling that we've met before."

_Oh yes, you're quite right! We've done the horizontal hello quite a few times actually! And to be honest, we didn't stop there! And I don't even know you're name!_

Eris bites her lip, at a complete loss and panic for what to say. What should she say? What would be appropriate? She doesn't want him to think she's a complete psychopath.

He steps closer, still smiling, and when he gets close enough to see that she's hurt, his facial features change from amiable to concerned. His steps bring him to her quickly and he reaches one hand out to her shoulder, to steady her, while the other gently cradles the side of her head so that he can inspect the cut on her face.

"Are you all right? What happened?"

His touch electrifies her. She shudders in pure want, inexplicable curiosity, and complete awe that-

"I- I-"

She draws her bottom lip between her teeth and gently moistens them for a moment while her eyes dart around, her thoughts a torrent of images, memories, and unnamed feelings.

Eris gradually blinks the myriad of remembered dreams away and calmly lays her hand against his on her cheek before looking up into his eyes, "You. You're _real_."

She inhales his scent, and relief washes over her.

Eris feels her knees buckle, and she helplessly crumples against him.

She feels dizzy, but can feel the hard planes of his body against hers.

_He caught me._

Hurrah! Chapter 2 accomplished! Thank you, my two lovely reviewers for all of your support!

Thank you Miss Kubelik!

And thank you Teenage Anomaly!

It means a lot to me! And I'm glad the both of you like it so far, and I appreciate the advice. I need it! And I always like to read what others say about my work ^_^


	3. Chapter 3

These Dreams – Chapter 3

Richard Alpert was a tad surprised that an airplane had actually managed to crash _on_ the Island. Quite honestly, he hadn't seen that coming. But as he had watched Oceanic 815's memorable crash and burn, he knew that for whatever reasons the plane had crashed, it was not coincidental.

No, not coincidental. Maybe...serendipitous. But if he was a betting man, he would have put his chips towards a stronger word. One synonymous with destined, _intended_.

The Island had brought them here. And whoever the survivors were, they would play important parts.

Ben had grasped that much.

Hench why the whole Island was in an upstart. People were gathering information, making trajectories of the plane crash, gathering costume supplies, and setting up whatever materials that they would need for the lies to keep the survivors pacified.

It always amazed him when people got upset once they realized that they could never leave the Island. He just didn't understand. Why would that be upsetting? He knew what world they came from. _That_ world was a jungle. _That world_ was miserable, tainted.

_This_ was his world.

_This _is his home.

Richard breathed in. The air was so much cleaner here. Everything about the Island was beautiful. It provided everything. ...and even what it didn't, the small luxuries he was used to (razors, shampoo, clothes, shoes, etc.), the Island allowed Ben to bring in.

Although, he supposed, the things these people might be missing, could be something as simple as the human companions they had left behind.

His jaw clenched a smidgen. Juliet's circumstances were unfortunate. But they were not so unfortunate that they caused him to feel regret for his actions. No, she was necessary.

He sighed, yes, he supposed, love would be the only reason why the Island wouldn't be the poster child for perfect living. As in Juliet's case, if the people you loved were not here per say, it would be logical that the Island and all it had to offer wouldn't hold as much interest.

_Not that you would know._

No, he supposed not. There had never been someone to make him claim to know anything about that.

He quietly laughed aloud, only allowing it to sound so bitter because he knew no one else would hear.

In a few minutes time it would be his birthday. Not that such things matter when you're immortal. Or when a plane crashes in your backyard the day before. But nevertheless, in a way that made him entirely human, it bothered Richard Alpert that he didn't have anyone to share this day with.

At this time every year, _no matter what_, he spent it enveloped in the Island; as deep into the flora as his feet would surely take him. He did this to remember where he had come from. To remember and celebrate the place that had shaped him into the man he was. Partly to honor it, and partly because it calmed him. Sometimes the gravity of all of his years needed to be eased off of his shoulders. Fortunately for him, the tranquility of getting lost in the Island was what eased his immortal mind.

So, an hour or so before the midnight he had been born on, he started on his way to celebrate. He would spend the full twenty-four hours in the jungles and rain forests he had been born in.

Richard stopped in his trek, and looked at his watch, it was almost time.

He opted to lean on a tree as he watched the seconds tick away to midnight.

11:59:55

11:59:56

11:59:57

11:59:58

11:59:59

12:00:00

Immediately after midnight he heard it.

He listened intently for a few moments to piece together that the slightly repetitious rustling was the sound of someone running.

The quiet rustles steadily grew louder, and he pinpointed that they were coming from the opposite side of his post against the tree.

Richard's eyes glanced about him to confirm that he was hidden from view from whoever was coming, and decided to lie in wait.

As surprised as Richard was to watch an airplane crash on his Island, he was even more baffled as he watched a young woman run by. A young woman that from her quick side profile he had glimpsed, he was not familiar with.

His mind was piecing together a map of the island, and of where he had concluded the front of the plane had crashed, and where the tail had fallen.

She was very far from either of them.

He turned his head to watch her breeze by, and couldn't help but feel his jaw slacken in complete confusion.

However, he righted himself very quickly when he saw her stop.

Slightly dazed, he moved towards his prey.

He didn't know why, but it felt like the right thing to do.

She was tying her shoe, and the distraction allowed him plenty of time to stealthily get closer.

How the hell had she gotten all the way over here so quickly? He was trying to piece together a sound explanation, but was still finding none.

Richard had gotten as close as a few paces away from her when she finally turned around.

He stopped.

He couldn't tell much about her before, and even less when she had been hunched over her shoestrings, but now that she had turned around, he couldn't help but take her in.

Her hair, which was a wavy dark brown due to sweat, was long, layered, and cut to have bangs. Her eyes, which were smeared about with the remnants of make-up and dirt, were as green as the Island's flora in the night. Her skin, what he could see of it, wasn't tan or pale, and she was petite. Maybe-a-little-over-five-whole-feet petite. She wasn't especially curvy, but the back profile he had been watching earlier as she had tied her shoe, presented him with a lovely view of her _very_ nice derrière.

She wore black and white shoes, dark brown pants with a bit of a flare, a long black sleeved undershirt with the sleeves pushed up, and a navy blue shirt with large brown font that read "Everything's Going to be OK."

That was incredibly amusing given the circumstances.

He smiled, and it came easily. He quite suddenly felt that he wanted to be friendly with her.

He steps closer, wanting to get a better look at her face.

As the moonlight filters in through the trees he catches a more detailed sight of her.

A few images flash in his mind, but they're gone before he can hold onto them.

He knows that they are of her, but he can't seem to remember anything else.

"Do I know you?" The question leaves his mouth before he can stop it.

She doesn't say anything, but he doesn't hold it against her. He understands that his sudden appearance is startling.

He feels as if he _should_ know her. And this in itself is important. Incredibly important. Why can't he remember her? It's there, the answer is there, dancing in the back of his mind, his memories.

Richard shakes his head, trying to clear it of the things that aren't making any sense.

More words tumble out of his mouth, he can't _shake_ this strange _sensation_, "I have a very strange feeling that we've met before."

Richard watches as she bites her bottom lip, teasing the flesh between her teeth as she thinks.

He decides to move in closer, taking her silence as a sign that he needs to seem more approachable, so he smiles again.

It becomes quickly apparent that she is indeed a survivor of the plane crash. She's battered and bruised, and there's a cut on her left cheek, below her eye. The remnants of sand mixed in with the blood mean that she did come all the way from the beach, which is why she's drenched in sweat.

But beneath the sand and blood, he can tell that she's as lovely as she is delicate.

Concern floods through him, "Are you all right?" He remembers his place and adds, "What happened?"

His hands reach out to her before he can stop himself. His thumb gently rubs against the undamaged part of her cheek and he steadies her shaking body with his other hand to her shoulder.

The feel of her skin sends a small jolt through him, and another set of images pass too quickly for him to decipher.

But what he does know, is that the sensation of touching her is as familiar to him as the North star in the sky.

"I- I-" she starts, obviously searching for the words she wants to say and still suffering from shock.

He lets her take a moment to calm herself, and when she's gathered a coherent train of thought, she lays a hand over his, looks up into his eyes, and whispers as if she's come to a sudden revelation, "You. You're _real_."

With her in his hands, he can feel that the earlier tension has completely left her, as if those words were as important to her as life itself.

Richard is pleased that he seems familiar to her.

One, because it meant that the Island had intended for them to meet.

And two, because it was obvious that the Island had told her to come to him.

He's not entirely surprised when she faints, and finds that his instinctive hold on her awashes him with a strange feeling of deja vu. The feeling isn't unpleasant, and not surprisingly, it _also_ feels familiar.

Author's Note:

Yay for chapter 3 from Richard's POV! And now that I'm incredibly tired, I'm going to sleep. Thanks for the reviews everyone!

Miss Kubelik and Teenage Anomaly thanks for the multiple reviews and advice! I love 'em!

And thanks to Beth Elia – I'm glad that you like my OC!

Winged Seraph – I appreciate the compliment!

Emilie – LOL, I'm glad I don't come across as totally mary-suing.

Briony Tallis – Much love, lol. Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

**These Dreams – Chapter 4**

"_Eris..."_

"_Eris...."_

"_Eris....."_

_Her eyes fluttered open slowly. It was nice to not be jarred awake._

"_Good. I've been trying to reach your subconscious for _hours_."_

_Quizzically, Eris pushed herself up from the bed she had been 'asleep' on and came partially face to face with a man._

_He was older man, with receding gray-white sandy hair and easy blue eyes. There were wrinkles on his brow, and the first attribute she lingered on was his voice. It had what she would have called a leisurely drawl.' _

"_But since I was a doctor at one time, I realize that it's not your fault that your body was trying to recover from the stress I had to make you go through."_

_Eris spared him a long deadpanned look of confusion before she curiously tore her eyes away from him to look about at her surroundings._

_It appeared she was in a bedroom._

_The walls of the room were a rich off-white vanilla shade and had light bamboo wainscoting (__**[1]Author's Note for those of you who don't know what wainscoting is**__) that led to a plush light green carpeting. There__ was a simple matching light brown furniture set that matched the bamboo paneling and consisted of a bed, armoire, dresser, desk, and night stand._

_The comforter set was a bold light green, tan, and dark brown colored horizontally striped affair that was neither feminine nor masculine. The walls were bare, as was most of the furniture._

_It was obvious that this room was not very well lived in. It held no personal touches at all. There wasn't a scrap of paper out of place that might have hinted as to what kind of person lived here._

_Eris had a strong impression that this was a spare room._

_She returned her attention to the man by her bed, "If you don't mind me asking, who are you?"_

_The man explained, in no hurry, "Well, if I were to tell you that it would take such a great deal of time that poor 'ol Richard might think that you had lapsed into a coma. But for all intents and purposes, you may call me Jacob since I speak on his behalf. He takes up the majority of my being anyway."_

_Eris could feel the muscles moving in her face to contort her eyebrow into a confused expression._

_He laughed, "I know how you feel."_

"_You know," Eris commented aloud, "This is a very lucid dream."_

"_Well, I have more power here. It makes it a hell of a lot easier to talk to you," he said with mock seriousness._

"_Here? You mean, the Island?"_

"_Yes," the man smiled, "We've been calling for you to come here for a looong time. We're glad that you finally made it." He grimaced, "Sorry if the trip was a little 'unorthodox.'" _

"_You!? _You've_ been calling me? You're the reason why I've had these dreams of this place? Why!?"_

_The man who called himself Jacob laced his fingers together and shook his head, "Sorry, it doesn't work out like that kiddo. You're just going to have to trust me. Now, when you wake up, Richard is going to have some questions for you-"_

_Eris started abruptly at that name, "Richard?" She exhaled softly, and scooted closer to the mysterious man, "Is that his name?"_

"_The man you've been dreaming about, yes," Jacob said, "Now listen closely, when Richard questions you, for now, this is all you need to know: He needs you, just as much as you need him. You two are _meant_ for each other."_

"_What? What does that even _mean_? Listen here crazy man, you can't feed me some bogus vague nonsense and expect me to be _pacified_ with that. That is not how I work!"_

"_Listen to me," he pressed, unabashed, "Your body is waking and I don't have much time. Tell Richard the truth, you can trust him! Be careful of Ben, he-"_

_~*~*~_

Eris' dream vision tunneled back, away from Jacob, and when she blinked, her eyes opened in the real world. The feeling was incredibly disconcerting. She sighed, and rubbed her eyes.

_These dreams are starting to tick me off._

Her body felt sore, but she felt much better. She had never woken up feeling so refreshed before. She didn't feel the need to yawn, or try to sleep for five more minutes, she was just, awake.

Eris stretched, raising her arms above her head as she twisted her abdomen about. Before she could stop herself, her legs followed before instantly being rewarded with pain.

Eris grimaced, and the pain took away the peacefulness of sleep and replaced it with a heightened perception of reality. She was in the same room from her dreams, the only difference was that in Jacob's place was Richard.

Her grimace faded almost instantly.

He smiled, "I'm glad you're awake."

Unease stirred within her at seeing him. Was she really awake? Or was this another dream. The last one had been so lucid. She sat up, and since her bed was pressed against the wall, turned so that she could lean upon it and look directly at her Loverboy.

She very carefully crossed her legs, and decided to reevaluate her situation to determine if she was really awake or not.

Lips pursed, she looked around the room again, every detail was as it had been in her dream. Her eyes flickered back to Richard, who was watching her as intently as she was watching everything else.

He looked, so real. This felt so real. She inhaled; the room had that faint scent of disuse, and a quick look to the window confirmed that he had opened it, as if to help dispel the smell.

If she could smell, then she had to be awake. This was real. Her eyes turned back to Richard, whose legs were crossed, ankle over his knee, and whose hands were leisurely threaded over his lap. He must have been waiting for her to wake up.

Eris didn't know how to feel about this. For so long she had thought of him as something...unreal. It was so odd to see him before her. ...she wondered if he really smelled like how he did in her dreams. She resisted the urge to straddle him in his chair and bury her nose in his hair. She wanted to smell him. Scent was never strong in her dreams, and it was usually how she could tell if she was awake.

Richard was the only thing that she had ever managed to catch scent of in her dreams. But...if the Jacob dude was right, and his power was stronger here, or some shit like that, maybe she could smell other things now in her dreams too?

She pinched herself, that was usually foolproof, and she did it hard enough to hurt.

Richard watched as she brought her right hand to her left arm and pinched herself. The expression on his face was almost comical, he laughed a little, "You're not dreaming."

There was so many questions that were bubbling within her.

"Is... Is your name Richard?"

The look of surprise that crossed his face gave her the answer.

Richard uncrossed his legs and leaned closer to her, resting his hands on the bed as he intently asked, his smile a bit more forced after being caught off guard, "Who told you that?"

Eris fidgeted. She did not like talking about her dreams, mostly because she didn't like the look on people's faces when she spoke of them. That look said 'I think you're crazy and need therapy.' She did not want this man to think she was crazy. Of all people in the world, not this one.

However, the Jacob guy said that she could trust Richard, but, that didn't amount to much seeing as how she didn't want to trust Mr. Incredibly Vague.

"Did Jacob tell you that?"

The look on _her_ face answered the question this time.

Richard smiled, very pleased by this as it confirmed his previous theory, "Did he tell you anything else?"

Eris bit her lip, this was the first time anyone had believed her dreams, or had known what they were about, "He said...that I could trust you...and that we need each other."

Her statement seemed to have a profound effect on him. He slowly leaned back in his chair, and it was apparent that he was thinking.

Loverboy's actions, thus far, had not hinted at whether he knew her or not. And this was something that she needed to know. Now.

She blushed as she started, trying to find the right words as she averted her eyes, finding the comforter to be quite interesting, "Have you... By chance have you ever seen me before... In a dream...perhaps?"

Though Eris wasn't looking directly at him, and was making good use of her peripherals, though she didn't need to with how she could feel his eyes zero in on her as if they had been lasers.

"No," he said slowly, "I don't think I have. However, I don't always remember my dreams, so, maybe I have. ...is this why you're not alarmed with your present situation? Have you already seen this meeting in a dream?"

Eris didn't know if she should be grateful that she didn't have to suffer the embarrassment of having shared sex dreams with the man before her, or whether to feel despair since now she felt truly alone. The conflicting emotions his response brought within her was troubling.

"Who is Ben?" she asked. Wanting to change the subject and divert it off of herself.

"He is...our leader. Why do you ask?"

"Jacob told me to be careful of him, and the way he said it made him sound dangerous. Am I in danger?"

_Am I in danger?_

Eris felt her hands starting to shake. And then it spread throughout her.

_I just survived a plane crash. A lot of people _died_, Eris. _You_ almost died. And you know you're never getting off this Island. A person named Jacob who was able to _communicate_ to you through your own dreams brought you here by crashing the plane you were on!_

_You are not in a hospital. And the vague dream guy told you to be careful of some complete stranger! You've been running around in the jungle, which is apparently alive with vocal cords that can produce whispers!_

A set of tears fell from her wide eyes, and the cut under her left eye stung as the small traces of salt ran over it. The slight discomfort didn't bother her, but she noticed something that did. In minor disbelief, she noticed that her hands were shaking.

And then everything hit her like a freight train.

"I- I almost died!" she whispered.

"Everyone was screaming!" Eris said with quiet urgency as she wrapped her arms around her.

"Those kids were crying! I couldn't save them! Everything was loud and fast and, and- And there's something in the Jungle!" Eris, despite the pain, brought her knees up so that she could bury her face in them as she started to cry, "I- I don't know what the fuck is going on! And you haven't even asked me who I am! You make it seem like all of this is no big freaking deal!"

The trauma, anxiety, and fear, coupled with the lack of adrenaline hit Eris completely off guard with her current confusion and lack of control of the present situation. The full impact of what had just happened to her did not have the time before to set in, and now that she was not charged with directions, she felt lost.

A sob escaped her, and upon hearing it aloud, she cringed. She was embarrassed and mortified that someone was watching her cry, angry at herself for letting her emotions get the best of her in front of an audience, and frightened because the one person she believed was going to be her anchor in this insanity, didn't know her, _at all_.

Richard had been waiting for this. He knew it was going to happen sooner or later. She had every right to this bout of post traumatic stress.

She looked so small curled in on herself as her shoulders wracked with sobs and tremors. Her file had told him a lot about her. Her mother had died when she was young, and judging by her expenses and bank account trail, it was obvious that even though she lived with her father, she was entirely self-sufficient.

Everything since her first job at 16 had been put into her name. Her accepted position to a job on the other side of the world and in how quickly she was making her move there hinted at a not so happy family life. Not to mention the death of her mother, and in medical records that affirmed that her father who had institutionalized her and the doctors he had hired thought that she was suffering from 'dreamed delusions.'

The medical records stopped when she reached 16, ending with the doctor's case work that deemed the patient had been cured, and that the leading therapist agreed that no further treatment was necessary.

Richard was able enough to piece together that Eris had not been as the doctors had declared "cured." It was apparent that she had simply pretended that she was 'all better'. Acting along so that the intensive 'treatment' would stop.

Eris Blake was an intelligent young woman, as indicated by her school and college transcripts. Also, as indicated by her school transcripts, her teachers' commendations of her were alike in how they applauded her as a resourceful, more than capable, and an intuitive student.

Her health and work records indicated that she had no friends or family emergency contacts with the exception of her new step-mother whom had recently been married into the family for only a year.

Richard had a feeling that her dreams, and pretending that they didn't exist had led her to refrain from making any close bonds, for fear that others would catch on, and back to a therapist she would go.

There weren't words accurate enough to properly place how he felt about her. She was a perfect example of why he hated the world outside of the Island. It was a militaristic prison. A society based upon rules for the single and simple minded.

Upon reading her file, Richard Alpert could see a good reason why the Island had brought her here, though he was certain her unique gift was not the sole cause.

She _belonged_ here, of this much, he was entirely certain.

Eris didn't register that Richard had moved until she felt his weight shift onto the bed beside her. She tensed within herself, squeezing her eyes shut even harder as she wished to be alone.

However, when he grabbed her and gently pulled her into his lap, she let him. She remained tensed for a bit longer, not knowing if she should trust him when he leaned her into his chest and soothingly began to rub her back in the universal I-don't-mind-if-you-cry-all-over-my-shirt motion.

Eris melted into him, she buried her face into his chest and shuddered as the worst of the tremors ran through her. After a few moments her sobs quieted, and after a few minutes, her tears ran dry, until only her broken breathing remained.

"I'm so sorry that I cried all over you," she murmured into shirt, feeling quite sheepish and not yet brave enough to look up at him.

Richard stopped his movements against her back and wrapped his arms securely around her, "You have nothing to be sorry about. You just survived a very traumatic experience, only to what I'm guessing be told to run through the jungle nonstop until you happened across me. If you had reacted _calmly_ to all of those things, _then_ I would have cause to be concerned."

"Instead, I look like a huge sissy. Not what I would call a very good first impression."

Richard smiled at her grumbling tone.

If only she knew just how much he had gathered of her in the short amount of time since she had woken up. Even though she was obviously wary of what Jacob had said, she did trust _him_. If she hadn't trusted him she would have pushed him away when he went to comfort her. By that small act of kindness he had extended, and very willingly of course, he knew that Eris would trust him first and foremost out of all the others on the Island. He had instilled more trust between them in this short span of a few minutes than a week of cordialities would have under far more normal circumstances.

Something in the back of his mind, presumably because of the years he had spent with Jacob, told him that was doubtlessly what the Island had intended all along.

_[1] AN: Around a 3 ft. high wooden paneling on an inner wall._

_I hope this didn't suck too badly..._

_-Button_


	5. Chapter 5

**These Dreams – Chapter 5**

"Please forgive me of my horrible manners for not properly introducing myself."

Eris pulled away from him, and wiped the remaining moisture from her face, as he continued, "My name is Richard Alpert, and the reason why I hadn't thought to ask for your name is because as soon as your plane crashed, we gathered information on all of the passengers of Oceanic 815. After I ran into you in the jungle, I retrieved your file and brought it here after I had tended to your wounds."

Richard gestured to the desk, where a manila folder had been placed, "I read through it while you were asleep. I wanted to know more about you..."

-He thought of how she had responded to him in the jungle. The way how she had looked at him... Her eyes, her face, she had looked _relieved_.-

"...since it seemed that the Island had intended for us to meet."

There it was again. Her muscles had started to tighten again when he began to explain, as if she was bracing herself, and when he mentioned that he knew that they were supposed to meet, she relaxed. Just by the tiniest bit, but nevertheless, it calmed her for him to regard their meeting as something that wasn't happenstance.

She _knew_ him. If she was able to dream of future events, it was possible that she had dreamt of him before. But _how_ did she know him? What had her dreams shown her about him?

Richard was curious. So very curious about the young woman in his lap.

When he had pulled her into his lap, he had turned her so that she could comfortably sit between his legs with hers thrown over his left thigh at an angle so that he could hold her against him, and so that she could face him if she wanted to.

Because she was so petite, the position was not uncomfortable.

Not uncomfortable at all...

When he had first seen her, despite the dirt and blood, and the way her hair had been in general disorder, he could see that she wasn't unattractive.

And when he had brought her to his home, and had started to clean away the grime off of her face, the after effect had been a pleasant surprise. Her hair was still in need of a thorough washing, but his initial review of her had been correct. She was lovely, not in a way that would turn heads, but coupled with the appropriate clothing would make some men look twice.

Her breasts weren't too full or too small, and her waist wasn't muscled or toned, but she was curvy enough for her petite size, and when she had bent-

Richard Alpert willed his inappropriate thoughts to order with a quickness. This was _not_ the time for him to be thinking about what sex would be like with Eris Blake.

He tried to ignore the way she licked her bottom lip and forced himself to focus on what she was saying.

"Do you really believe that we were intended to meet?" she asked, trying to gauge his sincerity.

He nodded and spoke very seriously, making sure his thoughts wouldn't wander, "Yes, Eris, this Island is very special. It is unique, and so are you. If Jacob told you where to find me, our meeting was inevitable."

Eris took this in carefully. He called her 'unique.' Did he know about her dreams? How?

Eris' brows snapped together, "Did my file tell you that I was 'unique'?"

"Yes," he said, "Of course."

Eris leaned away from him a inch and started piecing together what 'a file' meant. Obviously, it had to be the same kind of files that the government kept. Which meant, it contained her hospital records.

Anger simmered within her at the invasion to her privacy and fueled by it she said, distrust evident in her voice, "So because my _file_ told you that my father institutionalized me, you think I'm _unique_? Do you _really believe _I can see things that have not happened yet in my dreams?"

Eris almost didn't want him to answer. It had hurt when her father had not believed her. It had hurt when every doctor she had told her dreams to had not believed her. It hurt because their disbelief labeled her a liar in their eyes. And what hurt the most, was never forgetting that look. Because they never looked at her the same, ever again.

She had spent too many nights dreaming of this man, and right now, he was the only thing that mattered. She had just tumbled down the rabbit hole, and Richard, in his own way, was her Cheshire cat; the only thing she could anchor herself to.

If her dreams were true, and Jacob was right, and Richard was meant for her, there was no way that could ever be if he didn't believe her. And who ever would? If her own father didn't believe her, why would some stranger who had never met her?

Her gut clenched. It was wonderful and frightening to know that her fantasy man was real. The possibilities were definitely food for thought. And the fact that this Island she had dreamt of all of her life had appointed them soul mates or whatever, was amazing, but...he _was_ real. And people in the real world were...unpredictable.

What if they weren't meant to be? She knew almost nothing about him! _He_ didn't know who she was. It wasn't as if she could snap her fingers and voilà, instant soul mate.

"Eris Blake," he said, "Of course I believe you. You wouldn't have run halfway across this Island on sheer whim. You dreamt that we would meet, and of course, it happened. As it was meant to happen.

"People are not all born of the same mold. The same ingredients, yes, but just as your DNA is different from mine, we are all diverse. Some people are unique. And you Eris Blake are here because you are different. I know that you were brought here because you _belong_ here."

Eris couldn't believe this was happening.

"Now, I don't know why," he explained, gesturing with his hands, "Or for what purposes, but you are more than welcome to stay."

_Because I don't want you to leave._

The unconscious thought had popped into his mind before his consciousness could pretend that it hadn't, and he was at a loss for what could have contributed to it.

Richard could read that the expression on her face was a new one. In it he could see that she was at a loss for words. It bothered him that she was surprised that he believed her. Hadn't anyone else?

Eris closed her eyes, and dispelled her surprise. She needed to think. His last words had triggered a memory of a dream.

"You say that I'm welcome to stay," Eris said slowly, "But we both know that no one ever leaves. Isn't that right?"

Richard grimaced, "I was hoping to avoid that small detail until you were more familiar with the Island. The concept is quite bothersome for most at first."

Eris shook her head, "No. I'm not bothered by it."

He didn't realize that his eyebrow had risen until her emerald eyes glanced at them.

Her tears were now gone, and she looked much calmer in his lap as her skin relaxed from the flush of tears to her natural color.

She smiled and looked at the window, and spoke in a way that was almost poignant, "I've seen this Island in my dreams since as far back as I can remember... It... I thought it was my subconscious' way of finding an escape... I'd always reasoned that that was why I dreamt of it as often as I did. But now..."

Eris folded her hands delicately in her lap, and shrugged her shoulders, "If my subconscious was using this Island as an escape, as a way to help preserve and calm me, I don't think I should leave. If this Island really wants me to be here. Well..."

She laughed gently, "It's not like I have a home to go back to. I don't have any real reason to leave."

Eris Blake taught something new to Richard Alpert.

It dawned on him then, that in all of his long years, he had never known what it was like to not have a home.

His hazel eyes turned to Eris in quiet contemplation.

It dawned on him also, that he didn't want Eris Wren Blake to continue, or to _ever_ feel again that she didn't have a home.

Why?

He felt responsible for her. Jacob had essentially placed her in his care.

--"He said...that I could trust you...and that we need each other."--

His eyes roved over her frail form and her face, which she was carefully keeping devoid of emotion. Eris was a good person, it radiated off of her like warmth from the sun, and ironically enough, she was as alone as the moon in night sky. The world had left its mark on her, and instinctively Richard Alpert wanted to clear it away, clear it away and make sure it never came back.

"Eris Blake, I'm going to share something with you."

His statement caught her off guard, and she turned her full attention to him.

Her breath caught. He was _really_ looking at her. So far their conversation had been a calculated give and take of information, but the look he was giving her now implied that his next words were going to be said without premeditation.

She had only seen this kind of intensity from him in her dreams. The urgent way he had of looking at her had always made her feel the object of his world, and now that she was experiencing it firsthand, she was mildly awed.

"As complex as I may seem, I am surprisingly simple. I understand the importance of rationality and emotion. Of morality and the lesser of evils, of instinct and intuition. But most of all, I understand that everyone feels a basic need, a hardwired want, to feel belonged.

"And a far as I'm concerned, I belong here. This Island is my home. And as far as I'm concerned about you; I know a good person when I see one, Eris. Of all the years I've lived, I've become an _excellent_ judge of character . I know that I can trust you. If the Island wanted us to meet, if Jacob says that we need one another, then I see it in our best interests if you stay as close to me as possible. We won't have to worry about Ben if he knows I've taken you in."

Eris wasn't sure how to respond. Her lips parted, but nothing came out.

Richard continued, unabashed, "This room is yours, but unfortunately there's only one bathroom, which connects our rooms together. However, your privacy will not be an issue with me, and I will only come in your room when invited. We have plenty of supplies and almost everything you could want we have.

"I already took the liberty of having Juliet pick up some essentials and a spare change of clothes. Everything you need to take a shower and the like is already in the bathroom. I figured that you would like to tend to yourself before I explain why we're all secluded here and introduce you to everyone."

Another flicker of a memory passed through her, a forgotten dream. Was Jacob doing this?

"Don't feel guilty for not telling me everything right now. You do later, and I know that I don't feel terribly upset. I take it pretty well," Eris said, shrugging her shoulders as the information effortlessly came to her.

Richard appeared pleasantly awe-struck and amused at her admission. His voice sounded lighter as he replied to her, "I do hope that after we're more comfortable with each other that you'll tell me more about your gift. It's fascinating."

The look on his face, triggered another memory of a dream.

--_She was lying on a bed, waiting for him as she lounged on the propped pillows. _

_The door to the bedroom opened, revealing Richard in its open frame. She felt her lips turn into a shy smile as he let his messenger bag fall to the floor, suddenly uninterested in it, as he zeroed in on her with quick strides to the bed._

_As he stepped quickly closer, her fingers popped open the snap buttons of his shirt she was wearing, and she parted the material with one hand while the other beckoned him with a finger and a blush as she bared herself to his gaze, the cool hair making goose pimples on her flesh since his shirt and her panties had been the only thing she had been wearing._

_Her actions rewarded her with an amused, and pleasantly awe-struck facial expression as he dipped down towards her slightly parted mouth, his hand smoothly pushing his shirt off of her bare shoulder as he palmed her exposed flesh while he kissed her hungrily._--

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Eris said tightly as a spark of arousal flared within her, the memory a little too much to handle while in such close proximity to him, "It _is_ fascinating."

* * *

A/N: Yay! Chapter 5 complete!

Thank you so much Winged Seraph! I'm glad my OC interesting and that my writing isn't completely horrible. Richard is so hard to write about because he's so...mysterious! We need more Richard in LOST!

Briony Tallis – I love it when people offer me insight to what little parts amused them and the like! Thanks for the tid bit! ^_^

Beth Elia – I'm glad that chapter 4 was satisfactory! And yeah, the emotional breakdown was a must. I mean, surviving a plane crash. Scary. I'm sure mostly everyone would have realistically peed their pants or had a heart attack, luckily, I didn't see it necessary to include those reactions. . lol

JenCarpeDiem – Thanks for adding my story to your alert list and leaving a review! I hope this story continues well. VERY WELL. ; D

THANKS EVERYONE FOR REVIEWING! I appreciate the feedback! Since Richard is somewhat difficult to write, I feel loads better when I get responses from my readers! You guys rock!


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